The United States have won the 2026 Backyard Ultra World Team Championship after Belgium’s final two runners brought the competition to an extraordinary conclusion – stopping together after completing more than 516 miles apiece.
Merijn Geerts and Ivo Steyaert each completed 124 hourly loops, known as yards, before deciding to call it a day. Their efforts lifted Belgium’s final team total to 1,058 yards, securing third place behind the USA and Australia.
But their decision to finish together means the Belgian race has no individual winner, adding a significant qualification to a performance which exceeded the recognised backyard ultra world-record distance.
The Americans take the team crown with 1,120 yards, ahead of Australia on 1,069, while the United Kingdom finish fifth with 939.
How the world team title was won
Created by Gary ‘Lazarus Lake’ Cantrell, the backyard ultra format requires runners to start a 4.167-mile loop every hour, on the hour.
They must complete it within the allotted hour and be ready to go again at the next start. Any time remaining between loops is their opportunity to eat, rest, sleep or deal with equipment and injuries.
Complete 24 yards and a runner has covered 100 miles. Then the process continues.
For the world team championship, national squads compete on their own courses, with every completed yard from every runner contributing to their country’s combined score.
That distinction proved decisive this year. Belgium kept its race going longer than any other nation, but the USA’s collective performance had already established a target beyond the defending champions’ eventual reach.
Mark Dowdle led the American effort with 107 yards – 445⅚ miles – with Jon Noll completing 106 as the assist, the term used for the final runner to stop before the national winner.
Australia secured second place, with Dan Camac completing 87 yards to win its national race.
Belgian pair go beyond 500 miles
Belgium’s challenge ultimately rested with Geerts and Steyaert, who continued long after every other national race had ended.
At 117 yards each, their team had moved ahead of Japan into third place. But catching Australia, let alone the USA, still required a substantial extension of their efforts.
They eventually reached 124 completed yards apiece, equivalent to 516⅔ miles, before choosing to stop together.
Belgium’s final tally of 1,058 left it just 11 team yards behind Australia and 62 short of the American total.
It was an immense individual effort from both men, but their shared finish creates an important distinction when assessing its place in backyard ultra history.
Record distance – but no race winner
The recognised world-record benchmark coming into the championship was Phil Gore’s 119 yards, set at Australia’s Dead Cow Gully in June 2025.
Geerts and Steyaert both went five yards beyond that distance.
However, a backyard ultra produces an individual winner only when one runner completes a final yard alone. With the Belgian pair choosing to stop on the same total, neither fulfilled that requirement.
Their 124-yard performances therefore need to be distinguished from a confirmed, recognised world record.
There is precedent involving the same athletes. Geerts and Steyaert stopped together after 101 yards in 2022, while they and Frank Gielen finished level after 110 yards at the 2024 team championship.
This latest chapter again ends with an extraordinary shared distance, but no individual Belgian winner.
Phillips leads UK to fifth
The United Kingdom finished fifth overall on 939 yards, behind Japan’s 1,038 and ahead of France’s 889.
Dave Phillips won the UK race with 90 yards, covering 375 miles, with Matthew Blackburn completing 89 as the assist.
Jay Stapley contributed 83 yards and James Luxton 81, while Iain Bethune and Sarah Perry each completed 76 – more than 316 miles apiece.
Across the championship, 990 runners started for 67 participating teams, with racing beginning simultaneously on October 17.
More than five days later, Belgium’s final two athletes brought the last national race to a close, confirming the USA as world team champions.
Backyard Ultra World Team Championship 2026 results
| Position | Team | Total yards |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 1,120 |
| 2 | Australia | 1,069 |
| 3 | Belgium | 1,058 |
| 4 | Japan | 1,038 |
| 5 | United Kingdom | 939 |
